Sports game organization

ABSTRACT

A plurality of teams, including at least two players for each team, are directed to opposing containers of the apparatus, wherein one player of each team positions a bat member within a first container, wherein a defending team directs a tubular projectile towards the opposing container, wherein a player with a bat is directed to strike the projectile, or alternatively faced towards the opposing container and position the bat member within the opposing container to score points thereby.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The field of invention relates to sporting event type games, and moreparticularly pertains to a new and improved sports game organizationwherein the same is arranged to effect scoring by directing running ofplayers from one container to an opposing container in positioning a batmember therein to effect scoring of points.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Pitching type games of various categories have been utilized in theprior art, wherein opposing players attempt to direct a projectile intoan opposing player's support. The instant invention attempts to overcomedeficiencies of the prior art by enhancing need for mobility andadroitness in hand/eye coordination, as well as in speed to effectscoring of points. Examples of prior art in this category may be foundfor example in U.S. Pat. No. 712,159 to Vogue wherein a game apparatusis provided wherein a single container is provided to receiveprojectiles from opposing players.

U.S Pat. No. 3,822,063 to Rea sets forth a target for use in receiving aprojectile, wherein the target includes a central cup member in asurrounding hood organization.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,401 to Hayko wherein a tic-tac-toe apparatus isprovided with pockets for receiving various projectiles therewithin.

As such, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for anew and improved sports game organization as set forth by the instantinvention which addresses both the problems of ease of play as well asenhancing athletic skill and ability and in this respect, the presentinvention substantially fulfills this need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types ofsporting and pitching games now present in the prior art, the presentinvention provides a sports game organization wherein the same isarranged to direct a batting player to run to a defending team'scontainer to enhance activity in use of the game in scoring of pointsthereby. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, whichwill be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a newand improved sports game organization which has all the advantages ofthe prior art batting games and none of the disadvantages.

To attain this, the present invention provides a plurality of teams,including at least two players for each team, are directed to opposingcontainers of the apparatus, wherein one player of each team positions abat member within a first container, wherein a defending team directs atubular projectile towards the opposing container, wherein a player witha bat is directed to strike the projectile, or alternatively facedtowards the opposing container and position the bat member within theopposing container to score points thereby.

My invention resides not in any one of these features per se, but ratherin the particular combination of all of them herein disclosed andclaimed and it is distinguished from the prior art in this particularcombination of all of its structures for the functions specified.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the invention in order that the detailed description thereofthat follows may be better understood, and in order that the presentcontribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course,additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafterand which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon whichthis disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for thedesigning of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out theseveral purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore,that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructionsinsofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially thescientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiarwith patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from acursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure ofthe application. The abstract is neither intended to define theinvention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is itintended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved sports game organization which has all the advantages of theprior art batting games and none of the disadvantages.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved sports game organization which may be easily and efficientlymanufactured and marketed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved sports game organization which is of a durable and reliableconstruction.

An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved sports game organization which is susceptible of a low cost ofmanufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and whichaccordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consumingpublic, thereby making such sports game organizations economicallyavailable to the buying public.

Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a newand improved sports game organization which provides in the apparatusesand methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, whilesimultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associatedtherewith.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with thevarious features of novelty which characterize the invention, arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses,reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptivematter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood and objects other than those setforth above will become apparent when consideration is given to thefollowing detailed description thereof. Such description makes referenceto the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric illustration of the instant invention directing abatting team to hit an incoming projectile towards an opposing team'scontainer.

FIG. 2 is an orthographic side view of the projectile of the instantinvention.

FIG. 3 is a top orthographic view of the projectile in an openconfiguration prior to depositing material therewithin.

FIG. 4 is an orthographic view, taken along the lines 4--4 of FIG. 2 inthe direction indicated by the arrows.

FIG. 5 is an orthographic side view of the projectile in an assembledconfiguration.

FIG. 6 is an isometric illustration of a typical container utilized byeach team of the instant invention.

FIG. 7 is a top orthographic view of the glove members utilized by eachteam.

FIG. 8 is an isometric illustration of the mask structure utilized byeach team

FIG. 9 is an orthographic view, taken along the lines 9--9 of FIG. 8 inthe direction indicated by the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 to 9thereof, a new and improved sports game organization embodying theprinciples and concepts of the present invention and generallydesignated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

More specifically, the sports game organization 10 defining the instantinvention includes apparatus depicted in the FIGS. 1-9 to include aplurality of container members defined by a first container member 11and a second container member 11a. Each of the containers includesplurality of support legs 12 mounted to a bottom surface of eachcontainer member, with each of the support legs 12 including an aperture13 directed therethrough to receive in each aperture an "L" shapedsecurement pin 14, in a manner as illustrated in FIG. 6, to securelyaffix each container member in a predetermined orientation relative toone another. A tubular projectile 15, including a flexible covering skin16 and secured together by stitching 16a and filled with a granular ordust-like filler interior 17 of a dry material to provide for a gyratoryflight when impacted by a bat member 19 provided each team. The tubularprojectile 15 is formed with semi-spherical end portions 18 to encasethe interior filling therewithin. The bat members 19 are each formedwith an upper and lower terminal end.

Each team of a plurality of teams is provided with a first player and asecond player 25 and 26 respectively. The first player 25 is providedwith a glove pair 20 of flexible construction and a protective face mask21. The protective face mask 21 is formed with a foam ellipticalperimeter guard 22, with a mesh convex grid 23 directed interiorly ofthe guard 22. A head band 24 mounted to the guard 22 secures the facemask to an individual's head, as illustrated in FIG. 1 for example. Inuse, each team is provided with a bat member 19, a plurality of gloves20, a mask 21, and a container member. A single projectile 15 isutilized.

Arbitrarily, a defensive team is chosen with an opposing team formed asa batting team. Such selection may utilize various arbitrative mannersuch as dice, a coin flip, and the like. The containers 11 and 11a arespaced apart a predetermined spacing, wherein such spacing may be of adesired length such as 20 to 40 feet. The second player 26 of thebatting team is positioned adjacent the first container member 11, withthe bat positioned with a terminal end of the bat contained within thecontainer 11. The opposing or defensive team is positioned in theidentical configuration, wherein the first player 25 of each teamalternates as a catcher and a pitcher in either catching or throwing theprojectile 15 to an opposing container.

In scoring of points, the second player of each team may either hit theprojectile 15 where a point is scored upon the hitting player racing toan opposing container member and positioning a terminal end of the batmember 19 within the opposing container, with the terminal end of thebat touching an interior surface of an opposing container member. Eachtime containers are switched by a batting player touching an opposing aninterior surface of an opposing player's container, the containers areswitched and a point is scored. In lieu of striking the projectile 15,the batter may race to an opposing container and position the terminalend of the bat within the opposing container whether the projectile isswung at or not. It should be noted that at any time the projectile 15is directed within the container 11 by a pitching team and the battingteam fails to have a terminal end of the bat within the batting team'scontainer, an automatic out is awarded. If the projectile is struck inthe air and caught by a defensive player of a defensive team, thatbatter is out and teams switch positions. Striking of the projectile along distance beyond the defensive team may permit awarding of a greaternumber of points in excess of one, to be arbitrarily decided, such asfive points. An alternative manner of playing the game employs the firstplayer 25 being of an opposing team and the second player 26 being ofthe batting team, whereupon at any moment, the batting team's player 26does not have a terminal end of the bat within the container adjacentthat batter, the defending team's player 25 may merely drop theprojectile within the container adjacent the batter to effect an "out".In this orientation of defensive and offensive players, with thedefensive player behind the associated container and an offensive playeradjacent the container, the defensive pitcher, such as in FIG. 1 (notshown), will continue to throw the projectile until an "out" is awardedand the roll reversals are effected, wherein the opposing or secondcontainer 11a is provided with the defending team batting and initialoffensive team or batting team catching. It is understood that thesecond method of play of the game employs a batting team's playerthrowing the projectile and the batting team's member 26 attempting tostrike the projectile.

As to the manner of usage and operation of the instant invention, thesame should be apparent from the above disclosure, and accordingly nofurther discussion relative to the manner of usage and operation of theinstant invention shall be provided.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized thatthe optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, toinclude variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and mannerof operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obviousto one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to thoseillustrated in the drawings and described in the specification areintended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operationshown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of theinvention.

What is claimed as being new and desired to be protected by LettersPatent of the U.S. is as follows:
 1. A method of playing a sports gamecomprising the steps of,providing a first container and a secondcontainer, each container including a plurality of leg members, and eachleg member of the plurality of leg members including a through-extendingaperture therethrough, and a plurality of securement pins, and asecurement pin of the plurality of securement pins directed through eachaperture of each of the support legs, and securing the first containerand the second container at a predetermined spacing relative to oneanother, and providing a tubular projectile, with the tubular projectileformed with a flexible covering skin and an interior granular materialto effect gyratory flight of the projectile when impacted, and aplurality of bat members, and a plurality of teams, and each team formedwith a plurality of players, and providing each of the teams with a batmember, and designating a first team with a first player the first teampositioned behind the second container member, and the second player ofthe first team positioned adjacent the first container, and providingthe second player with the bat member, and positioning the first playerof the second team behind the first container member adjacent the secondplayer of the first team.
 2. A method as set forth in claim 1 whereinthe second player of the first team initially positions the bat memberwithin the first container member, and the first player of the firstteam throws the projectile towards the second member of the first team.3. A method as set forth in claim 2 wherein the second player of thefirst team attempts to strike the projectile, or alternatively racestowards the second container member to position the bat member withinthe second container member and effect contiguous communication betweenthe bat member and an interior surface of the second container memberprior to the first player of the second team depositing the projectilewithin the first container member.